


tell me something (i don't already know)

by sakabelle



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Canon-comliant, M/M, Road Trip, reunion tour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 14:10:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10765839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakabelle/pseuds/sakabelle
Summary: “I've got an idea,” Louis says, excitement bubbling in his voice. “What if we land in Boston and then drive to LA?”Liam sighs and rolls his eyes. That is a terrible idea. If they're going to do that he might as well stay at home for another week before they embark on that other terrible idea – the reunion tour. But it's impossible for him to tell Louis that. Which is why he ends up agreeing to it.Louis and Liam road trip their way from Boston to Los Angeles.





	tell me something (i don't already know)

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a random post on tumblr. Just as 90% of my stories are. Also my first LiLo fic, so that's fun. There will probably be more!
> 
> Come talk to me on tumblr [here!](http://sakabelle.tumblr.com/)

**Boston, MA**  
_an exit to eternal summer slacking / but where were they going / without ever knowing the way_

Liam swings open the door to the black Range Rover they've rented. The new car smell fills his nostrils and he takes a deep breath. He and Louis must be among the first people to drive it.

He slips into the driver's seat as he glances at Louis in the rear-view mirror. A snapback covers his shaggy brown hair and he's wearing an old hoodie with a pair of faded joggers. Liam smiles to himself as he turns on the ignition. If he didn't know any better, he'd think Louis was coming home from uni for the summer. Certainly not gearing up to embark on a tour with the formerly biggest pop band in the world.

But Louis has always been like that. Liam shakes his head and laughs as he fumbles through the dials on the stereo. Not like it matters – they won't be in any one place for long. So as soon as he finds a good station it'll be gone again.

He hears the trunk slam shut. Louis slides into the passenger seat and pulls a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He tucks one between his lips before holding the pack out to Liam.

“You are aware this is a rental?” Liam asks, raising his eyebrow as he looks down at the pack.

Louis shrugs. “Suit yourself,” he says, putting the pack away. He cups his hand over his mouth as he lights up and takes a long drag.

Liam's still giving him a look. So he rolls down the window and blows the smoke out of it. “Happy?” he asks.

Liam shakes his head, but he doesn't say anything. He just pulls the car out of the parking space and begins to drive along the streets of Boston.

“Do you even know how to get out of here? Can you pull up Google maps or something?”

Liam doesn't know why he's so irritated. Maybe it's the fact that he's up and left his son when he could have still been at home with him. Maybe it's Louis's cigarette making him crave one of his own. Maybe it's Louis himself.

Whatever it is, they're barely ten feet away from the car rental and he's already regretting this. A bloody road trip to Los Angeles. Not like the four of them are going to be spending the next four months together.

He rolls down the window. It's warmer than he's used to in late May – but that's to be expected. He's always been surprised at how quickly summer comes in the states. It's almost like they don't have any other seasons.

Instead of pulling out Google Maps, Louis fumbles with his phone for a minute. The radio cuts off and Fastball's _The Way_ starts to blare through the speakers.

Liam glances over and gives Louis an unimpressed look.

“What?” Louis protests. “We need road trip tunes, Liam.”

Liam sighs. “Need to know how to get on the road first.” He pauses for a moment, turning down a street that looks like it might lead to a main road. Not that he knows his way around Boston at all. “You know, if we brought Niall he'd have it all planned out already.”

“Right,” Louis says, looking back down at his phone and tapping their destination into Google. “But then you'd have to spend a week in the car with Niall. Love the lad but...” Louis looks up at Liam and wrinkles his nose. “No.”  
  


Liam rolls his eyes. Louis can't handle being around anyone for more than six hours at a time. Expect for Liam, apparently. Given he suggested this bloody trip. “Right, where are we going then?”

“I-93,” Louis says, looking out the open window and exhaling another smoky breath out of it. “Turn left here.”

Liam bops his head along to the music as he makes the turn. He feels a little better now that he sort of knows where he's going. For the next little while anyway.

“What do you think it'll be like?” Louis asks. His arm is resting on the window's edge and he's staring outside. The air is blowing harshly into the car now on account of them speeding up on the interstate.

“What's that?”

“Like... the tour. Being back at it after four years?”

Liam shrugs. He doesn't know. Hasn't thought about it that much, really. It's only happening because Niall texted the three of them late in December. f _ancy touring am this summer, lads?_ And now, here they are. Because it's not like any of them were doing anything else. Which Liam knows that Niall was well aware of.

“Don't know,” he finally says, after rehashing it all in his brain.

Louis shifts in his seat and tosses the butt of his cigarette out the window. “Probably much of the same. You could pick up girls this time,” Louis laughs a little, glancing over at Liam.

“Could do,” Liam says, even though he probably won't be doing any of that. He'll leave that to Niall and Harry. He's never been much for that aspect of the touring life. Always had a girlfriend at his side. Even if he doesn't for this go around.

He considers for a moment spilling the entire thing about Cheryl to Louis. Hasn't told anyone about that either. Obviously they all know that they've split. The whole world knows about their split. There's rampant speculation of course – there always is. But he's kept it inside for the most part. He's not even sure what happened with the two of them himself, to be honest.

“I'm starving.” Louis breaks the awkward silence. “Let's get something to eat.”

“We literally just got on the road.”

“Well get off of it. Fancy a burger? We could do the burger tour of America!” Louis laughs and Liam can't help but join him. Even though he's smiling at the moment, Liam still wonders why the hell he agreed to this.

* * *

They're sitting in Whalburgers near the docks because Louis insisted on it, of course. He'd Googled “Good burger places in Boston,” and upon discovering this, Louis wouldn't let it go. After all, they're about to embark on a boyband reunion tour.

Liam chews on his burger and stares out the window.

Louis takes a noisy sip of his iced tea and catches Liam's attention. He makes a show of sucking on the straw and widening his eyes.

“What?” Liam asks with annoyance.

“Nothing,” Louis says, leaning back in his chair. He looks around the restaurant. Photos of the Whalberg family litter the walls. Including a few of Donnie Whalberg on tour with New Kids on the Block.

Liam looks around as well, because he's got nothing else better to do.

“We should've done this,” Louis muses.

“Done what?”

“Opened a burger joint.” Louis laughs a little bit and takes another noisy sip of his iced tea. “Reckon it would have been a success.”

“Don't have a catchy name like Whalburgers though.” Liam gives Louis a bit of a look as he pops a chip into his mouth.

“Hmmmm...” Louis looks to be in deep thought for a moment. “What if it was Tommochips?” he laughs.

“That is truly terrible,” Liam says, raising his eyebrow. “Like, actually terrible.”

“Oh, no.” Louis chews on his straw for another moment. “What if we opened it as a group? What Makes You Burger-ful?”

Liam rolls his eyes. Another six days of this banter with Louis might actually kill him. “There are about a thousand things wrong with that,” he starts, before listing a few of them off. “One – that's still a terrible name. Two, do you really want to open a burger shop with Niall and Harry? Can you imagine those two working in a kitchen?”

Louis smiles and looks out the window for a moment. Liam studies him for a second. It's always hard to know what he's thinking about. The mysterious grin on his face, the light in his eyes that always have some kind of ulterior motive behind them.

He sort of wants to ask Louis why they're really on this trip. Because he knows full well that this isn't just a whim. Even if Louis wants him to believe it is.

“Right.” Louis nods his head after a minute. “That would be a disaster. But we wouldn't have to tour then.” He points at Liam, shaking his finger and nodding his head.

That's an odd comment, and Liam can't let it go. “You don't want to tour?”

“No, no,” Louis says, leaning back in his chair again. He picks up his cup and pops the lid off, tilting it back onto his face and crunching on a piece of ice. “Of course the tour'll be fun, but we can't do that forever.”

“That's what we said last time,” Liam reminds him. It was the entire basis for that stupid break they took. The break that solidified him as a has-been, however much he doesn't want to admit it. But they were all so tired and over it that at the time, he didn't care. “We said we couldn't tour forever and this was the time to call it quits. Go out on top. And now look, here we are.”

Louis bites his lip. “Payno...” he starts, but Liam cuts him off. He doesn't want to have any part of this conversation. It's already gone too far – and it was supposed to be about the four of them opening a burger joint, of all things. Not serious at all. And he's not about to let it go down that road.

“Better get going.” Liam gathers his trash and tosses it into a bin. He makes a show of lifting his hand to unlock the car. The familiar beeps of the alarm system disarming get Louis to get up from his seat.

“Yeah, alright,” Louis says, stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking out of the restaurant.

Liam sighs and picks up Louis's trash as well, tossing it in the bin before following behind him.

* * *

**Rochester, NY**  
_i could use a fresh beginning too / all of my regrets are nothing new_

It's just starting to get dark as they take the exit into Rochester. Neither of them mentioned anything about stopping here, but it's almost half-nine and Liam doesn't exactly want to drive through the night.

So he rolls through the exit, driving down the streets and looking around for a hotel for the night.

“Where do you want to stay, then?” Louis asks, getting the message that they're stopping for the evening. “Maybe a place with a hot tub?”

Liam sighs. Louis has always had posh taste in hotels. A Holiday Inn's never quite been enough for him, which is rich considering some of the dirty places he's stayed in while at Glastonbury and Coachella.

“Whatever,” Liam says, because he's not interested in arguing. Though he doubts they'll be finding anything posh in Rochester.

He's right. Because after twenty minutes of driving around the best they're able to find is a Crowne Plaza. Which isn't a terrible chain, but Liam's well aware it's not the Four Seasons that Louis is envisioning.

Not that he cares. They'll have enough of that when they're on the road with the band. And they'll be trapped in them too – so he'll be getting his fill of fancy hotels.

“Two rooms,” Liam says when they approach the front desk. Louis is standing behind him with their suitcases. Liam glances back – Louis is just playing around with his phone. Standard.

“What kind of rooms, sir?” The woman asks him with a sweet smile plastered on her face. “We've got single, double, king, there's a master suite...” she rattles off the options and Liam's only half paying attention. He just wants a place for the night. A place where he won't be bothered with Louis's incessant questions or random thoughts about life. A place without Louis and his god damn road trip playlist.

“Double... one smoking, one non,” he says when she's finally done. He'd rather not sleep in a room that's musty with old cigarette smoke, but he knows Louis will murder him in his sleep if he ends up in a non-smoking room. Either that or he'll smoke in it anyway, and Liam doesn't exactly want to have to pay for that.

She hands him a couple room keys after taking down his information and he nods at her. When he goes back over to Louis, he hands one of them to him.

Louis glances at his key and then looks over at Liam's. “Separate floors?” he asks with a laugh. “Are you that sick of me already?”

“I got you a smoking room,” Liam explains as they step onto the lift.

Louis raises his eyebrow. “And you didn't get one?”

Liam shugs. “Nope.”

“Have you quit on me, Payno? What am I gonna do without my smoking buddy?”

Liam rolls his eyes. No, he hasn't quit. As much as he wants to. As much as he probably should have. Then maybe he wouldn't have sounded like such shit on his solo album. Maybe he wouldn't have had to go back to this life as being a god damn backup singer to number one selling Harry Styles.

Not that he tells Louis any of that. “It's bad for you, you know,” is all he says.

Louis clasps a hand to his chest. “Really? I was always under the impression that it did wonders for you. Makes you run faster, sleep better – they're saying it actually cures cancer now.”

Liam ignores his sarcastic comment as he looks up at the numbers above the door. “This is my floor. See you in the morning.”

“Night,” Louis says to him. Liam doesn't miss that he's lost the sarcastic edge to his voice.

* * *

Liam wakes up the next morning and rubs his eyes. All things considered, he didn't have a terrible sleep. Usually hotel beds are so stiff that he finds himself tossing and turning all night.

He rolls over and picks up his phone. 4,257 new mentions on twitter. Two text messages – one from Louis and one from Niall. He clicks into the one from Niall first. _u went on a road trip without me ? :'(_

Liam shakes his head. He sends a quick text back to Niall. w _e'll be on a 4 month long road trip in a week!!_

Niall texts him back right away of course. Liam can't think of a moment when Niall's phone wasn't surgically attached to him. He has to laugh at his friend's response. Maybe he should have invited him on this trip. At least he'd be a good distraction. _your right see you soon leemo. TOUR!!!!_

Then Liam checks the text from Louis. _U awake yet? Im hungry. Lets get back on the open road!_

Liam sighs. He supposes he better get on board with this trip and fast, because they're only in New York and they've still got a ways to go. _Just woke up. Meet u downstairs in half an hour._

He rolls onto his back and clicks into twitter. Because he's still got a few minutes before he needs to get into the shower and get dressed. Not like it'll take him that long. Years of touring have prepared him well on how to get ready in a hurry.

He scrolls through his mentions, because it's been a while since they've blown up like this. Ever since their tour was announced, really.

@1dupdates: _@LiamPayne and @Louis_Tomlinson spotted in Boston yesterday._

_@paynotime: ahhhh can't wait for the tour boys! @LiamPayne @Louis_Tomlinson @NiallOfficial @Harry_Styles_

_@stylesofficial: @LiamPayne can't wait to hear u on stage in a week! Smash it!!_

Liam tosses his phone to his side and walks over to the bathroom. As he steps into the shower, his thoughts are still on twitter. No, he's not going to smash it like the fans think. He did two solo performances on his own during the hiatus and completely bombed them. In fact, the only reason he's doing this tour is because he isn't about to let down the others.

Even though he's sure that Harry and Niall could each sell out these fucking venues separately. So maybe it's a good thing that neither of them are here. So he can have a bit of time to get used to being around the two of them without being consumed with jealousy.

When he finally gets down to the lobby, Louis is standing there waiting for him. He's leaning against the wall, cigarette tucked behind his ear and cellphone in his hand.

Liam kind of wants to ask Louis who he's texting all the time, but he refrains. The last thing he wants is to start digging into his friend's personal life. It'll only backfire, because then Louis will just start asking questions right back.

“Where do you want to go for breakfast, then?” Liam asks as he starts to walk out of the lobby.

Louis slips his phone into his pocket and follows behind Liam, his suitcase trailing along the pavement. “Dunno. Pancakes?”

Liam nods and looks down at his phone. He clicks into google maps and looks up how the hell to get to LA, anyway. Figuring that their next destination for the day is Chicago, he looks up the directions to get onto the interstate.

He grips the steering wheel once they're back out on the road. This is the easy part. Driving on the highway, the tunes cranked up. Occasionally Louis will burst out into song – which he's doing at the moment.

“ _Hey mister where ya headed... are you in a hurry?”_ Louis sings, his voice sounding scratchy and dry. Liam just shakes his head. At least it works for the song. Green Day isn't exactly known for their smooth pop vocals.

“ _Need a lift to happy hour say oh no...”_ Louis continues, then he looks over at Liam. “Aren't you going to join in?”

Liam shakes his head. He'll leave the loud car singing to Louis.

“Come on, Liam,” Louis cajoles him. “You're gonna have to sing a hell of a lot in the next coming months, you know.”

Liam grips the steering wheel tighter. Yeah, he knows. Doesn't really want to think about it.

“I can put some of our tunes on the playlist, if you'd like.” Louis lets out a laugh and looks down at his phone.

Liam sighs. No. The last thing he wants is to sing along to _What Makes You Beautiful_ or even _Drag Me Down_ on their way to the tour. Imagine if the update accounts caught them doing that? Or worse, TMZ.

“ _Troubled times...”_ Liam sings, just to placate Louis. Still, he keeps his voice low. “ _You know I cannot lie...”_

Louis looks over at him with a huge smile spread across his face. “ _I'm off the wagon and I'm hitchin' a ride...”_ he joins in.

The two of them continue singing along to the song. Liam keeps his eyes fixated on the road. Half because he really is trying to concentrate on driving and not getting the two of them killed on the interstate. And half because he really doesn't want to look over at Louis, who's jamming in his seat along to the beat of the music.

“There we go,” Louis says once the song is finished. It switches over to another, but he doesn't start singing along with it this time. “That wasn't so bad, was it?”

Liam glances over at him. “What's that supposed to mean?”

Louis shrugs. “Nothing. Just...” he pauses and chooses his next sentence carefully. Which is something he doesn't usually do and it starts to worry Liam. Because it means Louis is about to say something serious rather than something stupid.

Frankly, Louis being stupid and sarcastic is annoying. But it's also a lot easier to deal with.

“Spit it out then,” Liam says, hoping to just get this over with.

“It's not really a secret that you gave up on singing, is it?” Louis asks, an unfamiliar gentle tinge hanging in his voice.

Liam swallows and considers that for a second. He thinks about laughing and telling Louis that he's wrong. Or maybe glaring at him and telling him to fuck off. But his friend is actually being sincere – so maybe he shouldn't do either of those things. Maybe he should just open up a little like a normal human being. “What do you mean?” he asks, choosing to let Louis force it out of him.

Louis scratches his head. “Come on, Liam. It was pretty obvious, wasn't it? Your album didn't sell well – you did two shows. They weren't even shows, really. They were performances at those summer concert things. You didn't even talk to Niall in Chicago...”

Liam chews at the skin on the inside of his mouth. He remembers that all too clearly. How it took him so long to get any sort of music out to the public. How he only had a lifeless single while Niall and Harry both had number one albums and tours that were selling out all over the world. How he ended up performing as a “special guest” at a show that Niall was fucking headlining.

And how he did everything in his power to avoid talking to him that day. _Ok nice to see u payno. i guess we're not even friends anymore._ Niall texted him once the show was over. He remembers staring at that grey bubble for what felt like an hour before deciding not to respond to it. There was no point.

“Liam?” Louis asks. “Why'd you give up on it?”

Truthfully, Liam doesn't know. He was discouraged, sure. But that never stopped him before. Hell, when he was 14 he made it to judges houses on X Factor and even though he didn't make it through that he still tried again. And it turned out to be the best thing he ever did.

“I don't know,” he answers honestly. “Maybe I should have put something out sooner.”

Louis hums for a moment. “What? Before you were ready?”

Liam takes a deep breath. No, that's not it. He was busy. While Niall and Harry and hell, even Louis himself, were all working themselves ragged in the studio he was busy taking care of his son. And when he wasn't doing that, he was busy taking care of Cheryl. And when he wasn't doing that he was exhausted beyond belief. Truthfully, it's surprising he got something out as soon as he did.

And, apparently, it still wasn't any good.

“They criticized the hell out of me, Lou,” he says, still staring at the road ahead of him.

“Of course they did,” Louis snaps back at him. Liam's not surprised – it's hard for Louis to keep a soft tone for long. “You're not The Chosen One.”

Liam smiles slightly at their old nickname for Harry. Ever since the band started he was the most popular. The one the girls always loved. And after a couple years, it was clear he was being groomed as the front-man. Not that the rest of them were going to let that happen. And Liam thought they did a pretty good job of it, too. That is, until they ended up going their separate ways.

“Right,” Liam says finally. “Well, there wasn't a point then, was there? Besides, you never cut an album.”

Louis shrugs. “Managed a band, though. Went on tour with Gypsy Twilight and everything.”

“That's a terrible name for a band.” Liam glances over to him. If Louis is going to take the piss out of him, he's going to give it right back.

But Louis just smiles. “Yeah, it is. But I didn't choose it. Anyway, Liam. Gonna have to get over it. You're back on stage in less than a week, you know.”

Oh, he knows. On stage it'll be different. The fans have always been supportive of him. Plus. as much as he hates to admit it, anyone writing about their shows won't be focusing on him and his inevitable lacklustre performance anyway. At least that'll work in his favour this go around.

“Yeah, I know,” he mutters.

“At least we aren't doing solo songs as a part of the set,” Louis tries, nudging Liam slightly.

Liam can't help but laugh slightly at that. True enough. Management had suggested that and instantly the four of them shot it down. Louis said it best when he spoke for all of them. “I think the fans have seen enough of us solo for the last four years.”

“Yeah,” Liam says. He changes lanes when he sees a sign for a Denny's and takes the next exit. “I'm famished. Let's eat.”

“Thank god,” Louis replies with a laugh.

* * *

**Chicago, IL**  
_One thing led to another we were young / And we would scream together songs unsung_

After a long drive through the rest of New York and Ohio, they finally make it past the state line into Illinois.

Liam glances over at Louis. It's certainly been a day. He forgot just how long these drives between cities really are. Even longer when he's the one driving and can't just kick back on the tour bus with his phone or a round of FIFA.

“You're driving tomorrow, I hope you know that,” he says, looking back out onto the road for a moment and then back at Louis.

“Nah,” Louis says. He's leaning back on his seat and he's got his feet up on the dash. “You're doing a fine job.”

“Don't care. Your turn to drive tomorrow. Especially since this was your idea in the first place.”

Louis just laughs. He keeps fiddling with his phone and changes the song from the slower tempo one that's playing to a more upbeat Bon Jovi song. _It's My Life,_ to be exact.

Liam reaches over and pushes down on Louis's leg. “Sit normally, will you? If we get in a wreck you'll be dead, sitting like that.” Louis just turns his head and gives Liam a look. But he doesn't bother moving his legs. He's always had sort of a “it can't happen to me” mentality.

Liam sighs. “Why'd you want to do this, anyway?” he asks, going back to his comment about this whole trip being Louis's idea. Because so far, it's a whole lot of the same. Just a lot more boring than actually being on tour.

Louis shrugs. “Don't know.” He turns to look out the window.

Liam glances over at him. That's when he gets an inkling that something must be up. Not that he hadn't thought that before – but he's sure of it now. The way Louis keeps getting distant with him. The way he's constantly prodding for information. He only does stuff like that when he's trying to distract himself from his own life.

He studies Louis's face. His expression is neutral and his eyes are hidden behind his large Ray-Bans. His mouth is pressed together and his bottom lip is slightly turned down into a pout.

“Lou...” he starts, but before he can get a chance to pry he glances back out onto the road. They're getting dangerously close to rear-ending a semi, which is definitely on account of Liam staring at Louis for far too long and not looking at the bloody road. Liam slams on the breaks – the car screeches as it slows down. Thank god there's no one close behind them or they'd have caused a pile up for sure.

Liam's seatbelt tightens over his chest and the force jolts the two of them forward.

“OW!” Louis exclaims, glancing over at Liam with annoyance. “What the fuck?!”

“Sorry,” Liam says sheepishly. But then he gives Louis a bit of a smirk. “Told you that you shouldn't be sitting like that.”

Louis just rolls his eyes. He rubs his chest where the seatbelt nearly choked him.

Liam changes the subject back to what he was trying to talk about in the first place. Before he got distracted by Louis's face. So he focuses on the road – probably better to do that anyway. Make this whole conversation seem more casual. “How's El?” he tries.

“Fine,” Louis snaps at him. Which is Liam's clue that everything isn't fine. Not that he didn't already know that. Because if it was, Louis would be with her instead of spending a week driving to their tour with him.

“What's she up to?” Liam presses, doing exactly what Louis loves to do with him.

“Don't know,” Louis says shortly. “Don't care,” he adds, because as much as he may want to Louis can't ever keep anything to himself.

“Having problems again?” Liam asks, still staring out through the windshield.

Louis sighs loudly in order to show Liam that he's annoyed. “You're a prick, you know that?” he says angrily. “Yes, Liam. Since I can tell you're dying to know, we've split.”

“Sorry,” Liam says automatically. Even though he's not that sorry. Louis and Eleanor have split a few times before, and it's probably only a matter of time before they get back together and split up again.

Louis just shrugs his shoulders, looking out the window again.

“Maybe it's for the best,” Liam tries, repeating words he's said to Louis a thousand times before about this exact situation.

“Maybe,” Louis mutters. “Was it for the best when you and Cheryl split?”

Liam grits his teeth together. Sure enough, Louis has found a way to turn this back around on him. He doesn't even know where to begin with him and Cheryl. Because as far as he's aware, everything was fine between the two of them. Until one day when it wasn't. At least that's what he likes to tell himself.

“Yeah,” he says finally. “It's better this way.”

Louis just hums again, looking back out the window. The two of them share a couple minutes of silence. Silence that should be uncomfortable, but it's not. They've both had enough relationship conversations together to make this one barely a drop in the bucket.

Liam's phone breaks into the silence. _Merge onto the right lane and take exit 35C for Chicago_ his GPS calls out to him.

He sighs and switches lanes, watching for the exit. Sure enough, it pops up after a couple of minutes. And he turns onto it, starting to think about checking into a hotel or going to eat food first. Food, he decides on. Because as soon as he starts to think about it, his belly grumbles. He could really go for a burger. Maybe Louis was onto something with that burger tour of America comment on the first day.

“Fancy a pizza?” Louis cuts into his thoughts. “Chicago deep dish, obviously.”

“Yeah, fine,” Liam says, even though he had his heart set on a burger.

* * *

“Two rooms,” Liam says. Once again he's standing at the front desk of a hotel. And once again, Louis is off to the side with their luggage. Only this time, the lobby is decidedly more packed. Judging by the crowd, it appears there's been a Cubs game that night. “One smoking, one non.”

“I'm sorry sir,” the girl says, typing rapidly on the computer in front of her. “We've only got the non-smoking room.”

“Fine,” Liam says irritably. He just wants to get into his room before anyone notices who he is and makes a scene. “Two non-smoking rooms.” Louis will just have to deal with that for the night.

“Sorry,” she says again, biting her lip. “I meant we've only got one room available, and it's non-smoking. It's a king though... deluxe. Hope that's alright.”

Liam sighs, pulling his credit card out of his wallet. Whatever, he doesn't care. He won't have any space to himself, but that's fine. He can deal with it for one night. “Fine,” he says, handing her the card.

She puts him through and hands it back quickly. Then she goes over the details of the room, the check-out policy... and Liam doesn't pay that much attention. He glances back at Louis. He's not looking at his phone this time. Instead he's just standing there with the hood of his jumper up, covering his hair. Sunglasses still on his face.

“Enjoy your stay,” she says to him.

“Yeah thanks,” he replies, taking the papers and room key off of the counter and walking back over to Louis. “Looks like we're bunking tonight.”

Louis just nods slightly as the two of them make their way over to the busy lift. Thankfully, no one notices them as they stand there and they make it to their room without incident.

Liam yawns, kicking off his shoes and unzipping his suitcase. “King bed,” he says. “At least we've got a lot of space.”

Louis shrugs his shoulders. “How can you be tired? It's barely past ten.”

“I've been driving all day. And you're driving tomorrow, don't forget.” Liam pulls off his sweatshirt and pulls on an old t-shirt. He glances back at Louis before pulling off his jeans and socks. Maybe he should sleep with some pyjama pants on, but to be honest he's not even sure he's packed any.

Obviously it doesn't matter to Louis either, because he doesn't even bother with a t-shirt just pulls off his clothes save for his boxers and climbs onto the bed.

“Right,” Louis says, climbing under the covers and flicking on the TV. He flips through a few channels before landing on NBC. They're just playing a few highlights from the baseball game earlier that evening.

Liam climbs into the other side of the bed, making an effort to stay far away from Louis. Not like it's difficult, since they've got a king-sized bed and all.

“This has got to be the most dreadfully boring sport in the world,” Louis says. He stretches out his arms and yawns, sinking deeper underneath the covers.

“Hmmm...” Liam mutters, watching the screen. At least he can sort of follow what's happening with this game. “I'd say it's in second place after golf.”

Louis chuckles and then switches off the TV. “Yeah, you're right.” He switches off the lamp as well and wiggles fully underneath the duvet. “Night, Payno.”

Liam lays down as well, head resting on the pillow away from Louis. He closes his eyes, but thoughts are still swirling in his head. All the drama with Cheryl is back at the forefront of his mind, dredged up by his conversation with Louis that barely qualifies as such.

He sort of wonders what happened this time between Louis and Eleanor. It's always something different with the two of them – they can't ever seem to figure their relationship out. He doesn't ask though. There's no point in getting into it now. Maybe it has something to do with him going off on the tour for four months. That was always a point of contention between the two of them, if he recalls correctly.

The tour. His stomach twists uncomfortably just thinking about it. He'd been excited at first – the bump of nostalgia fuelling him when they were rehearsing all their old hits. Now he's just worried. He's five days out of performing live for the first time in years. The fans will scream for him, sure. And they'll compliment him on twitter, that's a given.

But the press? _Liam Payne Can't Hold a Note to his Former Bandmates._ The headline flashes through his mind. He swallows. Can't think about that. Time to get over it. Time to move on to this new chapter of his life. Or at least re-write the old one.

He takes a deep breath and pushes it all out of his mind. His eyes are heavy. The air conditioner hums softly in the background. It's so quiet in the room and the comforter sits softly on top of him. His breathing gets deeper and his mind blanks out.

“Leemo?” Louis's soft voice breaks through Liam's nearly asleep state.

“What?” Liam mumbles, not opening his eyes.

He can hear Louis shuffle closer over to him. That, and the covers pull in an uncomfortable way over his shoulders. Louis sighs, his breath hot on Liam's neck.

Liam's eyes shoot open. He stares at the closed drapes across from him. He's been in this situation enough times to know what's going on. And he sort of feels like an idiot for not seeing it coming from the moment the two of them got into the car. Or hell, from the moment Louis suggested that they go on this trip in the first place.

“El ended it with me... and I know what you're thinking.”

“I didn't say anything,” Liam mumbles, still staring straight ahead of him.

“Yeah,” Louis says thickly. “But I think it's probably for good this time.”

“You always say that.”

Louis chuckles. He actually chuckles at the notion that he and his on again off again girlfriend would be back on again. “She was absolutely livid when I told her I'd be road-tripping with you.”

Liam doesn't say another word. His mouth is dry and his heart is pounding. Oh, and the fucking heat from Louis's body right behind his is causing heat to build up in his abdomen.

“Cause... you know... we always used to...” Louis shifts up and presses himself up behind Liam, kissing the back of his neck. He shimmies up a bit kissing behind Liam's earlobe.

Liam sighs. He wouldn't say that they “always used to” is entirely accurate. A few times before, sure. But never when either of them were in a relationship. And it certainly never caused one of Louis and Eleanor's many breakups. No, if anything it was just something they did because they were both bored and lonely on the road and they were all each other had.

Which, he supposes, is still the case right the fuck now. Four years, and literally nothing has changed.

Liam rolls over to face Louis. He presses his own lips against his friend's plump mouth. Louis grins into the kiss. Liam's eyes have adjusted to the darkness and he can see the way the smile creeps up his cheeks. He sort of wonders if this had been Louis's plan all along. Probably not, since he had no way of knowing the hotel would be sold out. That was just a happy coincidence.

Louis moans into their kiss. His voice is raspy and soft in a way that only he's able to accomplish. He tugs at the bottom of Liam's t-shirt. “Shoulda just gone shirtless, Payno,” he says against Liam's mouth.

“Didn't think we were gonna be doing this.” Liam pulls away from Louis slightly. He sits up on his knees and pulls his shirt over his head, tossing it on the floor. Louis rolls onto his back and looks up at Liam. His eyes are droopy, probably a combination of him being both tired and turned on.

Liam crawls on top of Louis, sinking into him as they kiss again. Louis's skin is rough against his own, heaving underneath him. Rushed kisses keep their mouths occupied as Liam runs his hands along Louis's arms, gripping at them slightly. He kisses Louis's sharp jawline and grinds his hips against Louis.

Louis groans, of course. He's never been one to be overly quiet. Liam's memory darts back to one other time they were having a romp. They were on the tour bus and he had to cover Louis's mouth with a pillow to stop him from alerting the other boys as to what they were doing. He wasn't successful.

“Liam,” Louis moans softly. He rocks his hips up against Liam's. Boxers chaffing and bunching up over their thighs. Beads of sweat start to collect on Louis's forehead. Their chests are slippery with the warmth. Liam reaches behind him and pushes the duvet off to the side.

The cold air hits Liam's back instantly, and he shivers. Louis's hands reach up, pulling him in closer, warming him up. Their kisses are frantic, needy, antagonizing. The way that they were years ago when they were all alone, the hum of the air conditioner their only companion.

Louis shuffles underneath Liam and presses a hand to his chest. Liam sits up on his knees and looks down. Louis is breathing heavily, but that doesn't stop him from reaching down and pulling his boxers off.

Liam sighs, looking down at Louis. He's a sweaty mess, his hair is wet, chest rising and falling. His cock is hard, leaking with pre-come and begging for Liam's mouth to be around it.

“Li,” Louis gasps when Liam shuffles downwards and takes his length in his mouth. “Come on, Li...” he arches his back up, thrusting his hips upwards.

Liam can handle it. He's always been able to, because Louis has never been one to take blow jobs by just laying there. He properly fucks Liam's mouth, faster and harder and gripping the sheets underneath him. Until Liam pulls away from him.

Louis whines, thrashing his head to the side. His hair is starting to leave a damp spot on the pillow.

“Easy,” Liam coos, slipping his index and middle fingers into his mouth. He coats them with saliva very spreading Louis's legs and slipping them inside his hole.

“Jesus, Li,” Louis moans. “En...enough of that...”

Liam rolls his eyes. Louis is always rearing to go – even though he knows he's not quite ready. He leans downwards, still working his friend. He plants soft kisses on Louis's inner thigh, knowing that if he touches his cock it'll probably all be over.

Liam pulls away. He glances up at Louis's face – it's red and flushed, his limps plump on account of all the kissing. “Condom?” he asks.

Louis just nods his head, motioning over to his suitcase.

_Classic Louis_ , Liam thinks to himself as he rifles through Louis's bag. When he finally finds a condom, he wastes no time in ripping the package open and rolling it over his prick.

Liam swears he can see stars when he slides into him. It's so good and it's been too long since they've done this. Four years at least – probably more. He digs his fingers into Louis's back, thrusting hard.

The two of them rock against each other for a good bit, keeping a steady pace. The hotel bed creaks with their movements, the air doing little to keep them cooled off. It's so quiet this time around. No fans screaming outside. No parties going on in the hallway. No muffled bass from Niall or Harry recording in the next room.

Just silence and heavy breathing.

Liam moans when he comes. He can't not – not really. Louis is so tight around him and his mouth keeps leaving imprints on his skin. Louis grinds up against Liam's torso and Liam knows full well he's been holding on this long. Probably thinking about anything else in order not to come too quickly.

When Liam rolls off of Louis he looks over at him.

“It's been a while,” Louis finally says.

Liam nods his head. That it has.

* * *

**Des Moines, IA**  
_Don't give up / you've got a reason to live_

The drive from Chicago to Des Moines is a long one if they don't take a break. Liam's mapped out a full six hours and they're well on their way.

The night before doesn't hang over them the way one might think it would. Instead, Louis has the window rolled down, smoking yet another cigarette. His arm is lazily sitting outside, tapping the side of the car along to the music.

Liam focuses on the road in front of him. They're almost halfway to LA now. Halfway to doing all of this One Direction bullshit all over again. Speaking in distance terms, anyway. But halfway to being back as a band? Well, Liam's sure that point never came. They just were a band, and then they weren't.

And now, apparently, they are again. For the next few months, anyway. Until Niall or Harry get bored again, he figures.

“ _I can feel you breathe, I can feel your heart beat faster..._ ” Louis sings along softly to Eddie Money. Liam can barely hear him over the ripping wind of the interstate.

“What?” Louis asks. “Gonna have to start practising your arena rock again, Payno,” he says with a grin before starting up again. “ _Take me home tonight., I don't want to let you go till you see the light._ ”

Liam sighs. He figures Louis is right after all. Whether he likes it or not (and he must a little bit, because otherwise he wouldn't have agreed to this tour) he's going to be back on stage in a few days. And whether his voice is up to it or not, he's got the second most solos in the group. “ _Take me home tonight, just like Ronnie sang...”_ he sings along with Louis, still looking out in front of him. _“Be my little baby, be my little baby...”_

Louis's grin is infectious. The car speeds down the highway as they continue to sing along and reach the bridge of the song. _“Just like Ronnie sang...”_ Liam belts out. He doesn't even realise there's a smile on his face as he takes one hand off the steering wheel and reaches it out in front of him.

Louis laughs along with him as the song builds up again. He bangs his head along to the beat of the music. _“Be my little baby...”_ he finishes up, their voices in harmony. “Sick tune,” Louis says as _Take Me Home Tonight_ fades out and _What's My Age Again_ by Blink 182 starts up.

Liam shakes his head slowly. He knows where this is headed. But he supposes he's going to have to get it over with now. Louis is going to start in on him again and he's going to have to rehash all this shit.

“You sounded great,” Louis says instead of grilling him, much to Liam's surprise. “Can't wait for the shows,” he muses, looking out the window again. “They're gonna be sick.”

Liam just chuckles to himself. For a second, he feels like he's been transported back to 2012. Back when they were about to tour America for the first time. Back when it was all new and exciting and fun. Not when it felt like a chore.

He reaches over and gives Louis a light pat on the thigh. “Yeah,” he says softly. “Gonna be sick.”

* * *

**Omaha, NE**  
_Only watched the time go by / all of these things i said to you_

Another night in another hotel and they're back on the road again. This time, Louis is miraculously driving the car. But that's only because Liam slid into the passenger seat before they left the hotel. Louis just gave him a look, but he conceded and got into the driver's seat.

Liam's sure that him getting laid two nights in a row probably has something to do with his chill attitude. But he doesn't mind. Whatever gives him a break from driving for nine fucking hours straight.

They're about halfway through their trek for the day. Somewhere in Nebraska, Google Maps tells Liam.

Louis is a lot more quiet when he's the one driving. He just taps his hand on the steering wheel along with the music. Which is currently What About Love by Heart. Which is a power ballad, sure, but it's a lot more mellow than what's been on Louis's road trip playlist so far.

Liam hums along to the song and looks out the window. There's not much to look at save for the wide fields passing them by. No wonder Louis is always grilling him when they're driving. There's not much else to do other than let your mind wander when you're sitting there.

Three days now. Three days until they're in LA and back on the stage. Until they start to make their way backwards against the exact trip that Louis and Liam are on right now. Granted they've got a lot more stops and a lot more people, but still. They've also got a bigger tour bus, rather than a Range Rover piled high with their luggage containing their lives.

Liam glances over at Louis. He's staring out the front of the car. His lips are moving along with the music, but if he's singing it's quiet enough that Liam can't hear him. Which means he's probably not singing, because quiet isn't exactly Louis's forte. Even when Louis used to smoke away his troubles with Zayn, he still didn't know how to be quiet. In fact, if it's possible, weed might have made him more chatty.

It's weird, this. When Niall sent that text to their group asking for the reunion, he only sent it to the three of them. And the three of them went on as if that was it. There was never any mention of if they should be reaching out to someone else. Not even management said a word about it.

Liam supposes that makes sense. Given that they're touring _Made in the AM_ and all – an album that Zayn has no part of. An album that served as a goodbye to him and was written directly after he decided to leave the fucking band. No wonder the whole thing is chock full of their pain.

He's talked to Zayn a little bit in the last few years. Not much, but a bit. He sent him a text to congratulate him on the release of his album. Of course Liam never got one back when he released his own album, but that was fine. That release was so under the radar that it's possible Zayn didn't even know about it.

Still, it's weird that after all this time it's still raw. Or maybe it isn't. Maybe it was just so cut and dry that there was no reason for them to consider that Zayn would be back.

“Why do you think Niall only texted the three of us?” Liam finds himself asking Louis.

Louis licks his lips and bites the tip of his tongue for a moment. He doesn't answer Liam right away. He also doesn't snap at the sound of Zayn's name like he used to.

“I reckon it's cause...” Louis starts, but doesn't finish his thought. Maybe it's possible he doesn't know why. “He isn't even on the album, Liam,” he finishes lamely.

Liam shrugs. He always sort of thought if they reunited in the future that Zayn would come along. Because the whole point of it would have been for a laugh and not at a serious attempt at being a band again. That's probably still what it is – he's sure that after this Niall and Harry will go off and do their own thing. Can't be bothered.

“What?” Louis presses him. “Niall initiated this, Liam. You can't honestly think he'd have sent Zayn a message too. The second Paul told us he left the band, Niall rung him and cussed him out until the voicemail cut him off. And he was going to call back too, but Harry took his phone away. Or do you not remember?”

“I remember,” Liam says, running a hand through his hair. “I remember just fine. But that was five years ago.”

“And have you ever known Young Niall not to hold a grudge?” Louis asks, glancing over with raised eyebrows. “Come on, Liam. He was pissed off for a week because of that stupid photo of his face I posted on Instagram.”

Liam just shakes his head. Yeah, Louis is probably right. Even if they did try to make nice with Zayn, he probably wouldn't want to come back anyway. Too good for all of that – even if it was just a laugh.

Louis bursts out laughing again and smacks the steering wheel with his hand. “That was funny, though.” He's still on about the Instagram photo, apparently. “We should start up a new account and just post stupid embarrassing photos of him every night.”

“He'd kill you.”

“Well he wouldn't know it was _us_ , you prat.”

“He'd figure it out pretty fast. You aren't exactly the king of subtlety.”

Louis shrugs that comment off and picks up his phone from the centre console, tossing it at Liam. “Sign up for a new account. Call it _OhNoNiall_. bring him and his number one album down a peg.”

Liam snorts. This is probably a terrible idea. But he still finds himself doing as Louis says.

* * *

**Denver, CO**  
_two hearts born to run / who'll be the lonely one / wonder who's cryin now_

“A pity it's not snowboarding season,” Louis says, stretching his arms over his head once he steps out of the car. They've pulled into the parking lot of their hotel for the night. It's just a Travelodge at one of the exits, but there's a clear view of the mountains off in the distance.

“Why?” Liam pulls one of his suitcases out of the trunk and tosses Louis's backpack over to him. “So you can twist your ankle again? So I've got to carry you everywhere?”

“You didn't _have to_ , Liam,” Louis says with a smirk, slinging his backpack over one shoulder. He pulls a snapback over his head and angles it down over his eyes. “You loved it.”

Liam rolls his eyes as they start walking towards the entrance. Maybe Louis is right about that. But that was way back when – they were just kids. It was maybe their second world tour. (After so many, they started to blur together into one.) He distinctly remembers Louis climbing onto his back, begging to be carried because his ankle was in pain and he needed to rest so he could go on stage.

He also remembers how that just became the norm for the next few weeks after that. Long after Louis's stupid ankle probably healed. Because he had no problem kicking a football around backstage or running up behind any of them on stage to douse them in water.

He never actually told Louis to stop, though. It was only when El showed up on tour that he'd cut it out. Which was standard. They'd get close, El would show up, Lou would get distant and then after she left he'd stay distant for a day before making up another excuse as to why the two of them had to be together all the time.

Standard. And now they're sharing yet another hotel room. Because they've given up on the farce of getting two rooms, let alone two beds.

“Lou,” Liam whispers, his voice hoarse and his eyes dropping. They're almost asleep now – the room is quiet and the sheets are a mess. Just as they've been for the past three days.

“Hmmm.” Louis doesn't open his eyes. He nuzzles his sweaty forehead against Liam's shoulder, though.

“We'll come back,” Liam says. “We'll come back on a winter holiday and go snowboarding.”

“I know,” Louis mumbles, still not opening his eyes. “I'd have made you do it.”

Liam laughs and kisses him on the top of the head before sighing and letting himself fall asleep.

* * *

**Salina, UT**  
_Cause when the feeling's right / I'm gonna run all night / I'm gonna run to you_

They've stopped the car midway through Utah to take a break. As luck would have it, they're at some stupid truck stop called Love's Travel Stop. There's not much there – just a gas station and a couple of fast food joints. But the name alone is enough for Liam to feel uncomfortable.

Maybe it's because he's fallen back into this ill-fated pattern with Louis. Or maybe it's because he's just got a picture of his son from Ruth and he's feeling low. Maybe he should have just stayed in Britain for the extra week to spend time with his son.

Liam glances outside as he waits in line to pay for the couple bags of crisps and bottles of coke in his hand. Louis is leaning against the side of the shop, smoking a cigarette as usual. He can't help but envy him. He gets to spend all the time with Freddie that he wants. If Cheryl had her way, Liam would be out of the picture completely.

He pays for his items and slides back into the car. The driver's seat, of course. Because like hell Louis would be driving them around for two days in a row. But Liam doesn't really care about that at the moment. In fact, driving is sort of a nice distraction now that he's been reminded of everything he doesn't have.

“What's with you?” Louis asks when he gets back into the car and they pull away from this godforsaken truck stop.

Liam shrugs. Nothing's really up, he supposes. Even though Louis can read him like a book. Might as well just tell him and get it over with. “Ruth sent me this.” He tosses his phone over to Louis.

Liam's phone is locked, but that doesn't matter. Louis taps in the familiar code and navigates his way to the string of messages from Liam's sister. “So?” he asks, upon seeing the photo of Liam's smiling toddler. It's a spitting image of him, too. That only makes it worse.

“Do you think I'd ever get to see him?” Liam bursts out. “No.” He grips the steering wheel tightly. “No.”

Louis is silent for a moment. “Liam,” he starts softly. “What happened?”

Liam sighs. He hardly even pauses before letting all of it spill out. “I don't know what she wanted, but it wasn't... it wasn't this.” He waves his hand around, as if what she didn't want was a shitty road trip with his best friend and occasional fuck. That's not exactly what he means, but it's part of it. “She just thought it was all done, you know?”

Louis nods. Maybe he understands, maybe he doesn't. But he keeps on listening.

“So I went off and... well, you know.” He rubs his forehead, as if that'll get his thoughts into a more comprehensive state. “I did the solo thing. And she was over it. She'd call me fucking screaming. 'If you don't come home this instant it's all over,'” he imitated her, raising his voice just a bit. “And then I just... one day I just didn't come home. And then it was all over.”

“Well that's bullshit,” Louis says quickly. “This is our life.”

“I know,” Liam says through gritted teeth.

Louis reaches over and places his hand on Liam's thigh. “Sorry, Payno,” he offers, trying to put a supportive smile on his face. He can't be that sorry though. Because obviously nothing would be happening between the two of them if he was still with Cheryl. Or maybe it would. Liam has no idea.

The gesture does make him feel a little better though. Things aren't as great as they could be, but at least at the moment they're pretty good. “Thanks.”

* * *

**Las Vegas, NV**  
_stir my soul and whet my hunger / and weave that spell that pulls me under_

“I don't wanna go to the strip,” Louis whines. “We've been on the road for ten bloody hours. Let's just go to sleep.”

Translation: We've been on the road for ten bloody hours – let's go find a hotel, fuck and then go to sleep. Liam's well aware that's what Louis really means. But he doesn't call him out on it. “Really? You of all people don't want to go to the strip?”

Louis shrugs, looking down at his phone. “No.”

“You, the one who spent a month in Vegas when we first went on hiatus, doesn't want to go to the strip.”

“I'm quite sure I don't understand what you're getting at.”

Liam laughs out loud. The sun's just starting to set and they're literally fifteen minutes away from Vegas. Out of all the fucking places that they had to go on this trip – and Louis is going to deny him going to the strip? Like hell that's going to happen. Especially after dealing with that shit of getting the photo from Ruth and having to think about his fucked up non-relationship with Cheryl all over again. No, they're definitely going to the strip.

“We can stay at The Bellagio,” Liam tries even though he's already decided that's where they're staying.

“Whatever,” Louis mutters. So, at least he's on board. Kind of.

Liam doesn't say anything more on the subject. He just turns up the radio and hums along to the Justin Timberlake song that's playing. Once they get into Vegas it'll be fine. The lights and the atmosphere – not to mention the drinks – will liven Louis up. He's sure of it.

Thirty minutes later they're pulling up to the VIP entrance of the Bellagio. Liam gets out of the car, speaking with the valet for a moment before he looks back at Louis. He nods his head, motioning for him to get out. Louis makes a show of rolling his eyes, but he uncrosses his arms from his chest and steps outside.

“They're gonna park the car. Just gotta go in and get a room.”

Louis doesn't say anything. Just keeps the dark look on his face and the pout on his mouth and follows behind Liam.

Liam doesn't care. He doesn't pay any attention to Louis's stupid attitude as he books them into a room. It's not like he's not used to it. He even makes sure to get them a nice fucking room – one with a hot tub and a view. Because it's their last night together and they might as well make the best of it before they meet up with Niall and Harry and everything is awkward as fuck even if they're going to pretend it's not.

He hands Louis a golden room key before slipping his own into his wallet. “So... what d'you wanna do?” he asks, glancing around. That's almost the problem with Vegas. There's always so many options that it's hard to choose. Almost. It's hardly an actual problem.

Louis just shrugs.

“Blackjack?” Liam asks.

Louis looks up at him with a glare. No, not blackjack. And Liam well knows that, he's just suggesting it to make his next idea sound more appealing.

“A club?” he asks.

Louis shrugs again, but his expression changes a little bit. “I guess.”

Liam slings his arm around Louis as they head towards Marquee. Which Liam knows is Louis's favourite club. They've only been there dozens of times. He also stops on the way to get drinks for the two of them. And obviously, Louis downs his before they get to the club.

The booming dance music isn't enough to switch Louis's gloomy mood into an excited one, but the two of them still bop along to the music. In the crowd, they're not noticed. That's something Liam's always appreciated about Vegas. There's so many people everywhere that no one takes the time to recognize him. Plus he doesn't do stupid things like get behind that DJ booth and draw attention to himself. That's all Niall and that's why it's his own stupid fault he gets mobbed every time he's in Vegas.

“Remember Niall's DJ adventure?” Liam yells to Louis over the music.

A smile finds its way to Louis's face as he recalls the memory. “Nighttime Neil, yeah,” he laughs.

Liam laughs too. They're still dancing along to some Miley Cyrus song that he doesn't know. And he can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy that she was able to make such a comeback and he wasn't. But it's less painful that it was before.

The club is crowded and the music pulses. Liam squishes in closer to Louis, practically dancing right against him. He glances around. Maybe he should be worried about this. Maybe he shouldn't get too close. Even if they don't get mobbed, there's still the chance someone's going to snap a photo of the two of them and start some kind of rumour.

Obviously Louis isn't as worried about that because before he knows it, he's kissing him. Shoving his tongue into Liam's mouth as they move on the dance floor.

Liam pulls away from his mouth sharply. “Lou!” he chastises him, their faces still inches apart.

“Come on, Li,” he almost whines. “Nobody cares...” Louis leans in to kiss him again, a sly smile present over his lips. That's when Liam gets it. His whole bloody attitude since they've been here. He doesn't want their roadtrip to end because then everything's just going to go back to how it was when they were on tour before.

But maybe it doesn't have to. He kisses Louis back, pulling him in close and cupping a hand around his arse. He grinds against him, not caring who's going to see them. It's dark in there anyway, and even if someone does notice them, who the fuck cares? This wouldn't be the worst thing that's ever been written about either of them in the press.

“Let's just... do this, yeah?” Liam asks breathlessly, even though he's still got to yell it over the music.

Louis narrows his eyes and looks at Liam's face. “Like...properly?”

Liam doesn't answer him. Instead he throws his lips back onto Louis's and kisses him roughly. He drags his hand up along Louis's back and over his neck, letting his fingers get tangled in his shaggy hair.

“Let's get out of here,” Louis mutters into Liam's ear, grabbing at his hand and pulling him towards the door.

That's fine with Liam. They've been in the club for less than an hour, but it's enough. The strip is the last thing on Liam's mind as he as Louis fall into their lush Bellagio bed, kissing and pulling each other's clothes off as fast as they can go.

“Liam,” Louis gasps when Liam enters him, the two of them still gripping each other. “I love you.”

Liam breathes out, thrusting hard into Louis. “I love you too,” he grits out. “Obviously.”

They're a panting mess when it's over, collapsing onto the bed over top of the soft sheets and plush comforter. Even though the city below them is obviously packed with activity, the only noise is their breathing.

“This is it then?” Louis asks after a few minutes, reaching over and taking Liam's hand.

“I mean,” Liam says slowly, looking at his friend's face. If he can call him that now. They've always been more than friends, whether they've wanted to admit it to themselves or not. “Let's be honest. This has always been it.”

Louis nods along with him, taking a deep breath and giving Liam a sloppy kiss on the mouth. “Yeah,” he agrees, sinking back down into the bed. “It has.”

* * *

**Los Angeles, CA**  
_there's a future in my life i can't foresee/ unless of course I stay on course and keep you next to me_

There's a sign that they've just passed. Los Angeles – 30 miles. They're not far now. Not far until they make it to the hotel for the night. Not far to getting over to the venue and actually doing all of this all over again.

It's a bit daunting. And maybe it felt that way a week ago. Liam glances over at Louis. It certainly doesn't feel that way now. His stomach flutters with excitement in a way that he'd only felt years ago.

Louis is staring out the open window again. That god damn cigarette in his hand dangling outside. They're definitely going to have to pay for this car to be cleaned thoroughly. But that's fine.

“You wanna stop at In N Out before we head to the hotel?” Liam asks, glancing over at Louis.

“Obviously,” Louis laughs. “What sort of burger tour of America would this be without In N Out?”

“Should we pick up something for the others? Are they there?”

Louis is silent for a moment as he taps away at his phone. Probably texting them to find out. “Harry's not there, still on the flight.” he says after a couple of minutes. “Niall's there, but we probably don't need to-” Louis stops and cuts himself off. “No, no. Let's get him a burger. And snap a picture of him eating it.” He laughs devilishly, like this is the best plan he's ever thought up.

Liam glances over at Louis again. His hair's blowing slightly in the wind. There are crinkles beside his eyes on account of his smile. It warms Liam's heart. Even though he'll never tell Louis this – the road trip was actually a good idea. More than he ever thought it would be.

There's music playing softly in the background. It's still coming from Louis's phone, of course. That playlist will be the bane of his existence. But this song isn't so bad – none of them were, really.

“Man, I can't wait to embarrass him for four months straight,” Louis continues, bringing Liam back from his thoughts.

Liam laughs, a smile creeping up his cheeks and into his eyes. “Turn it up, Tommo.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :) Please let me know your thoughts! Much love x


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